'Men' powers CBS on Monday: Net wins in demos

May 1, 2012|Rick Kissell, Variety

''Two and a Half Men,'' featuring a guest appearance by Kathy Bates as the ghost of Charlie Harper, edged out NBC's ''The Voice'' in young adults Monday, and combined with good showings by all other CBS programs to put the Eye on top for the night in key demos.

CBS, back in originals for the first time in three weeks, finished No. 1 for the night in adults 18-49 and 25-54, winning a Monday for the first time since ''The Voice'' premiered in early February and up nearly 30% from the opening Monday of the May sweep a year ago (when ''Two and a Half Men'' was a repeat). ABC was down more than 30% from its winning performance of a year ago but still easily led in total viewers behind ''Dancing With the Stars.''

According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, CBS was either on top or tied for the 18-49 lead from 8 to 9:30 p.m. with ''How I Met Your Mother'' (3.2/10 in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall), ''2 Broke Girls'' (3.5/9 in 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall) and ''Two and a Half Men'' (3.7/9 in 18-49, 11.2 million viewers overall), with the latter standing as Monday's top show in 18-49, 25-54 (4.9/11) and men 18-49 (3.7/10). They were followed by ''Mike and Molly'' (3.2/8 in 18-49, 10.2 million viewers overall), second at 9:30 p.m., and at 10 p.m. by ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2.5/6 in 18-49, 10.8 million viewers overall), which didn't see a ratings bump with its crossover event featuring actors from ''NCIS'' but still led its hour in 18-49 and 25-54.

The other nets seemed affected by the return of CBS originals, including NBC, where ''The Voice'' (3.5/9 in 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall) dipped a bit to a season low, as did 10 p.m. drama ''Smash'' (1.8/5 in 18-49, 5.4 million viewers overall), which was well behind the competing dramas in all broad categories. Still, ''The Voice'' remained Monday's No. 1 show in adults 18-34 (2.9/8) and the Peacock more than doubled its demo delivery of a year ago (2.9 vs. 1.4 in 18-49).

At ABC, ''Dancing With the Stars'' (2.7/7 in 18-49, 15.8 million viewers overall) was down about 15% week to week for a season low. ''Castle'' held up well, though, as its penultimate episode of the season (2.4/6 in 18-49, 11.4 million viewers overall) was up vs. its most recent original of three weeks ago and was neck and neck with ''Hawaii Five-0'' in both 18-49 and 25-54 while winning in total viewers.

At fourth-place Fox, ''Bones'' (1.9/6 in 18-49, 7.0 million viewers overall) dropped 14% week to week, and ''House'' was down as well (2.1/5 in 18-49, 6.6 million viewers overall). The net was off 9% from a year ago when it aired ''House'' and ''The Chicago Code.''